novelraw Chapter 96 The Time Required to Become a Literary Master
Chapter 96 The Time Required to Become a Literary Master
Looking at the stack of documents on his desk, Takarajima Publishing President Hosho Shirakawa clearly understood the situation.
That fat guy named Noma from Kodansha is playing a very big game!
That fat guy's method was simple and straightforward, but it never failed in the mystery publishing industry.
That was the infamous "God-Making Project"!
In its simplest terms, the "God-Making Project" means that as long as you add enough qualifiers, anyone can be a "god"!
For example, Edogawa Ranpo, the "father of Japanese mystery novels"; Yokomizo Seishi, the "grandmaster of orthodox mystery"; Matsumoto Seichō, the "father of social mystery"; Yumeno Kyusaku, the "grandmaster of unorthodox mystery"; and Oguri Mushitaro, the "king of anti-detective novels"...
These four works, known as the "Four Great Mysterious Books," include Mushitaro Oguri's "The Murder at the Black Death Mansion," Kyusaku Yumeno's "Brain Hell," Hideo Nakai's "Offerings to Nothingness," and Kenji Takemoto's "Paradise Lost in a Box."
It can actually be considered part of a "deification project"!
This promotional method is actually the publisher highlighting their personal style in order to make the author famous!
Although Hosho Shirakawa's Takarajimasha doesn't have the same rich history as the three major publishing houses: Bungei Shunju, Kodansha, and Kobunsha.
However, the fact that he was able to create a short story mystery magazine like "Novel Mystery," which ranks among the top three in circulation in Japan, is enough to demonstrate his remarkable abilities.
With his keen business sense, Hosho Shirakawa was able to clearly sense that Noma, that fatso, was definitely trying to package Maijo Kyosuke as a "once-in-a-century all-rounder in deduction"!
Just thinking about these things made Hosho Shirakawa feel a splitting headache and unbearable pain!
He didn't simply hate Maishiro Kyosuke; he just hated that a reasoning genius like Maishiro Kyosuke didn't exist in his Takarajima Publishing House!
If that fat bastard Noma ultimately succeeds in elevating Maijo Kyosuke to godlike status.
That would be a devastating blow not only to Takarajima Publishing, but to all other publishing houses in Japan!
Because as long as Kyosuke Maijo is at Kodansha.
Kodansha is like a machine that has mastered a perpetual motion machine!
Not only can Top Hat magazine provide Maijo Kyosuke with a continuous stream of high exposure!
We can also leverage the immense popularity of Maishiro Kyosuke to boost the circulation of the newly launched magazine, Top Hat, causing it to surge!
Once this "perpetual motion machine" is built, then Kyosuke Maijo will gradually dominate the landscape of the Japanese mystery genre, influencing generation after generation of new mystery writers!
At that point, whatever Kodansha says will be law! Whatever Kyosuke Maijo writes will become a hit in the mystery genre!
In such a powerful atmosphere, countless admirers and imitators will inevitably emerge.
Once these people have enough admirers and imitators to surpass the social faction, then the "Qing-Zhang curse" will be completely shattered!
What will happen next? What will become of the landscape of the mystery genre?
The Curse of Dance City?
Hosho Shirakawa dared not think any further, nor did he have any reason to!
Because before the "Maijo Curse" even appears, his Takarajima Company will be directly destroyed by that fat bastard Genjiro Noma!
How long does it take to reach godhood?
How much time is left for Takarazuka?
Hosho Shirakawa stood up in a daze, pulled out "On Japanese Detective Writers" by Japanese mystery critic Gonda Manji from the bookshelf next to him, and began to read it.
Seishi Yokomizo wrote his debut work, "The Terrifying April Fool's Day," in 1921, and it took him a full 25 years to write "The Honjin Murders" in 1946.
Kyusaku Yumeno began writing in 1917, and it took him eighteen years, until "Brain Hell" was officially published in 1935.
It took Oguri Mushitaro eight years from writing "A Prosecutor's Last Will" in 1927 to writing "The Black Death Mansion Murder Case" in 1935.
It took Seicho Matsumoto five years, from writing "Saigo Paper Money" in 1951 to "Points and Lines" in 1956.
Edogawa Ranpo debuted in April 1923 with his novel "Two Cent Coin".
In July of the same year, he wrote "A Ticket", which established his status as a master in less than three months!
If... if Maishiro Kyosuke really becomes unstoppable and becomes the next "Edogawa Ranpo", then Takarajima may only have less than two months left!
Thinking about the scene if Maijo Kyosuke were to ascend to godhood, Hosho Shirakawa's face turned ashen!
In a fit of anger, he reached out and pushed everything on the desk to the ground!
The porcelain pen holder on the table shattered loudly on the floor, drawing in light footsteps and whispers from outside the door.
This terrifying worry about the future filled Hosho Shirakawa with extreme panic!
Because this feeling is like that of a death row inmate in the hour before their execution, knowing that they are about to die, but the torment they experience before death is more terrible than death itself!
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
A slow, deliberate knocking came from outside the door.
"Come in!"
Hosho Shirakawa adjusted his disheveled hair and began to speak.
The door opened, and Matsushima Shunma, the sales manager of Takarajima Co., Ltd., walked in. Seeing the mess in the office, Matsushima Shunma naturally understood what had happened, but still feigned surprise and asked:
"President Hosho, what happened? Why are you so angry?"
Hosho Shirakawa looked at Matsushima Shunma, pondered for a moment, pulled a cigarette from the table, lit it with a lighter, and then gestured to Matsushima Shunma to close the door.
Matsushima Shunma, who was able to become the head of the sales department at such a young age, naturally knew how to read people's expressions. He immediately locked the office door and walked to the opposite side of Hosho Shirakawa.
Hosho Shirakawa gestured to the chair with his cigarette-holding finger, indicating that Matsushima Shunma should sit down. He then took out a bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet next to him and placed two highball glasses in front of Matsushima Shunma.
He filled the highball glass to the brim and downed the entire glass of whiskey in one gulp!
After downing a whole glass of wine, Hosho Shirakawa's trembling hands, which had been shaking with anger, gradually returned to normal. However, as his anger subsided, a ruthless look reappeared on Hosho Shirakawa's face.
"Matsushima, I cannot let the Takarajima Company, which my father poured his life's blood into building, be destroyed in my hands!"
"We must...do everything in our power to stop Maijo Kyosuke from ascending to godhood!"
Shunma Matsushima held the golf glass, took a sip of whiskey, and a bitter smile appeared on his face:
"President Hosho, I understand your predicament, but... last time we contacted Mr. Nishimura Toshiyuki..."
"Although Mr. Nishimura Toshiyuki is willing to let us have a match with Maishiro Kyosuke, the price he asked for is not something that our Takarajima-sha can afford."
"A 30 million yuan commission for the article, plus an 18% royalty rate for publication!"
"While Nishimura Toshiyuki's reputation speaks for itself, this price is simply outrageous!"
Hosho Shirakawa glanced at the golf cup in his hand, threw it forcefully to the ground, then raised the whiskey bottle and took a large gulp, his eyes filled with a ruthless glint that made him resemble a terrifying cannibal.
"Matsushima, go and invite Mr. Nishimura Toshiyuki over. It doesn't matter how much it costs!"
"Before Maijo Kyosuke rises to power, now is the best time to bring him down from his pedestal."
"If we're unwilling to spend money now to cut off Maijo Kyosuke's unstoppable momentum, in two months Nishimura Toshiyuki's popularity might even fall below his!"